An impressive biography marked by political struggle and persecution, spanning from the German Empire to the Federal Republic. Siegfried Aufhäuser is regarded as the most prominent figure in the independent white-collar workers’ movement. He was directly involved, often in a prominent role, in pivotal political events in 20th-century German history. For instance, during the revolution of 1918–19, when a central committee of workers’ councils was formed under his leadership, or in the call for a general strike against the Kapp Putsch. As a member of the Reichstag and a leading trade union representative, he also participated passionately in the debates on possible defensive measures during the so-called ‘Prussian Coup’ and on the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor. In May 1933, Siegfried Aufhäuser was forced to flee the German Reich. After periods in exile in Paris, Prague, London and New York, he returned to West Berlin in 1951. His perspective as a left-wing Social Democrat, a political exile and a Jewish returnee bears witness to the diverse trajectories of German democracy and the Jewish history of the labour movement. Christian Zech traces the various facets of Siegfried Aufhäuser’s political life, thereby opening up new perspectives on the trade union organisation of white-collar workers, the history of social democracy and approaches to the democratisation of the economy.

This book is included in DOAB.